Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3)(126)

Three grisly hours later, and it was nearing the end.

“Annnnnndddd here’s the head!” the nurse said after one of the many strong pushes. Krista was so tired, she could barely keep her eyes open between each contraction.

“Almost there, baby. I am so proud of you!” Sean said softly, his eyes dripping with love.

“Bet you’re glad for this to be over,” Kate said, looking at Krista’s crotch.

“Bet you’ll never forget you spent three hours staring at your friend’s woo-haw,” Krista laughed tiredly.

“Doesn’t count,” Kate said as she waved a hand dismissively. “This shit is too extreme. Although, I can’t imagine Sean is all that excited watching the ruin of your fun factory.”

Sean said, “She is giving life. She created and is now delivering part of me. How could I not view this as the most holy of moments?”

All the women fell silent at his words. The nurse looked up at him with glistening eyes. “That is the most beautiful thing I have ever heard a father say.” She looked at him with adoration.

The moment was interrupted by the return of searing pain.

“Okay, now…push!”

Krista did. She pushed. She pushed and pushed. She strained with it. She shook her head to stay awake between times, and then pushed again.

Finally, after years and years, the nurse and her helper got exceedingly energized. “Okay, here we go!!”

A large object squeezed out of Krista’s body with a hot, stinging sensation. Suddenly, she was emptied. “It’s a girl!”

Krista had a second of gratitude before she heard the most angelic sound in her life. Her new baby girl cried for the first time. Tears came to her eyes and she looked up at Sean. He was looking down at her. For the first time in memory, he was freely crying. Unabashed tears dripped from his eyes. He smiled, looking more handsome than Krista had ever seen him.

In fact, a quick look told her everyone was crying. Even Kate, the hard ass, had tears in her eyes. It was crazy to think that a being came out of her. It was extraordinary.

The screaming baby was taken to the corner of the room to be weighed, measured, washed, etc. Sean stood halfway between his two girls, unsure which way to go. He looked at Krista like a puppy who was asking permission to go outside.

“Make sure she’s alright.”

He nodded, a huge smile crossing his face. The nurse was explaining something about tears and stitches and afterbirth. Krista didn’t care. Recovery she could handle. She was glad everything worked out successfully.

Epilogue

Sean took to parenting much better then Krista. They were in the hospital for two glorious days. Nurses helped them at every turn, including how to handle a crying baby and how to breastfeed. It was totally awkward having Sean sit in for the breastfeeding mini-lessons, but he was eager to be in every part of his daughter’s new life. He wanted to be the parent he never had.

Speaking of his parents, they didn’t give a crap about his marriage. They didn’t care about his upbringing. They didn’t care about being parents themselves. But they were all over their grandchild.

His mother and father sat in Krista and Sean’s living room, civilly waiting patiently for the other to be done holding and playing with their new granddaughter. It was apparently the first time they were in the same room without fighting in over two decades. Each had brought a mountain of gifts. His father already paid her way through college via a newly opened bank account in her name.

Krista had no idea they had that kind of money. No idea.

Then there was Krista’s mom and dad. Over the moon. Absolutely beside themselves with glee. They were currently in talks of moving to L.A. to be closer to Krista and Sean. To their family.

Samantha was furious.

Sean was ecstatic.

Krista took to parenting like a fat kid takes to vegetables. She hated being cooped up inside. She hated losing her independence. Her hormones raged—one minute being overly depressed, and the next, high on life. She didn’t know how to quiet the baby—named Sophie— and she didn’t know how to hold her. Basically, she didn’t know what the hell she was doing. Despite the clichés she had heard, mostly from men when she thought back on it, mothering wasn’t something that came naturally. You had to learn it. Some women did have a maternal instinct, sure, but just as many didn’t. Krista was one of the latter.

She asked and received advice from any mother she could. She talked to strangers on the street. She formed a bond with the most unlikely of people. She was now a part of a worldwide organization larger and more comforting than any other—the mothers’ circle. Having a baby granted her admittance to this social club she didn’t even know existed. They formed a pact together that was more solid than any sports team she had ever played on. You wouldn’t fall far without someone trying to catch you. When that wasn’t Sean, it was surely another mother, regardless of how well Krista knew her.

While Krista struggled with parenting, Sean slid into it gracefully. If anyone had that maternal instinct, it was him. He took two weeks off from work to be home with her and the baby. He did the hours she did. They were both exhausted, but Sean held them together. He cooked while Krista fed her. He cleaned while Krista fed her. He calmed Krista down when she cried about being a slave to feeding her—Sophie having commandeered Krista’s boobs. He held the baby when she was fussy, or when Mommy was fussy and hormone riddled, and gave Krista time off when she needed to nap. He was a godsend.